Need ‘conducive environment’ for Indo-Pak talks: MEA

New Delhi: India on Thursday made it clear that for talks with Pakistan to go ahead, there has to be a conducive environment and atmosphere free of militancy and free of militants receiving support from Islamabad. The remarks by External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar came in response to a question regarding reports from Pakistan on possibility of resumption of stalled Indo-Pak talks.
“Our stand remains the same. We have always maintained that for the talks to go ahead there should be a conducive environment and atmosphere. And that environment has to be created which is free of militancy and free of militants getting support from Pakistan,” he asserted.
India and Pakistan had announced resumption of talks under the comprehensive bilateral dialogue format during External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit to Islamabad in December 2015. However, the dialogue hit a roadblock after the Pathankot attack in 2016.
On a question about SAARC, Kumar said it is one country that needs to create conditions where such talks will have meaning and will be successful.